Pages

Follow Sunlit Uplands by E-Mail

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Historic Visit Scheduled Between Pope and Vietnam's Communist Leader

(Romereports.com) In a move that surprised many, Benedict XVI will receive the secretary general of Vietnam's Communist Party on Tuesday. Nguyen Phu Trong will stop by the Vatican during a tour of European capitals.

The
audience with Benedict XVI is unusual for several reasons. The first is
that Tuesday is usually a rest day for the Pope. In addition, papal
audiences are usually reserved for heads of state, and not leaders of
political parties.

Another reason is that the Communist Vietnamese government and the Holy See do not maintain full diplomatic relations.
The two states have established a Joint Working Group to discuss the
start of full relations, and the Vatican has a non residential
representative.

One of the biggest sticking points in talks is
the persecution of Catholics throughout the officially-atheist South
East Asian country. The most recent Christian persecution list from Open Doors,
place Vietnam at 21, describing the state of persecution as “severe.”
The ecumenical group says Catholics and other Christians in the state
are often harassed, and their worship increasingly restricted.

This website is dedicated to a renewal of Christian culture. It is inspired by Sir Winston Churchill, a valiant defender of Christian civilization, who believed "we have a great treasure to guard; that the inheritance in our possession represents the prolonged achievement of the centuries." With Churchill, we believe that a "fraternal association" of the English-speaking peoples must "for their own safety and for the good of all walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace.”